The International Monetary Fund has again downgraded its forecasts for global economic growth.
The revisions coincide with bad news about Germany's economy and an array of international problems, including Ebola.
Investors on Wall Street ran for the exits when the IMF also warned of a possible correction on financial markets.
The IMF says the risks of an equity price correction this year have risen, and that is consistent with concerns the IMF sees that some valuations could be "frothy", in other words unsustainable.
The fund did not name any particular market, but the comments were enough for big investors to take the hint that it might be time to sell and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dived and closed 272 points, or 1.6 per cent, weaker.
The other factor here was gloomy news about Germany where industrial production dropped by 4 per cent in August and that's the biggest decline since 2009 in the height of the global financial crisis.
So that has made investors very nervous, given that Germany has really been underwriting the euro area where growth is still flat-lining as a result of the eurozone debt crisis.
Not surprisingly, markets across Europe - in particular France, Germany and Spain - all closed deeply in the red.**********: Perpetual's economist Matt Sherwood speaks with AM business editor Peter Ryan

The IMF now thinks the world economy will grow by 3.8 per cent next year compared to a forecast back in July of 4 per cent.
Six years after the global financial crisis the world is still struggling to recover in many parts and this was underscored just last week by the IMF's managing director Christine Lagarde who said the world should expect a "new mediocre" in growth rather than a "new normal".
Given some very big global geopolitical worries - Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, Hong Kong and also the spread of Ebola - expectations need to be managed, according to the IMF's chief economist Olivier Blanchard.
"The recovery continues, but it is weak and it is uneven. So we forecast world growth to be 3.3 per cent in 2014, this is down 0.1 per cent from our July forecast, and 3.8 per cent in 2015, which is down 0.2 per cent from our July forecast," he said.
"Now these are small revisions, but they are small revisions starting with already fairly low numbers.
[h=2]IMF concerned with Chinese housing, not Australia[/h]The outlook for Australia remains on track, and in line with Treasury forecasts of 2.8 per cent this year and 2.9 per cent in 2015.
The IMF says a pickup in exports should offset any waning mining investment and the iron ore price is back above $US80 a tonne this morning, but that is still well below expectations of around $US100 built into the budget.**********: AM business editor Peter Ryan examines the IMF report

The IMF also mentions booming housing prices, and that in Australia the rises have been restricted to Sydney, Melbourne and Perth and are related to low supply.
The fund notes that the price rises have not been linked with a large increase in indebtedness, with moderate credit growth.
However, there is a bigger concern about China where the IMF says the challenge is to manage a real estate slowdown to prevent it becoming a crash.
"The most notable case is China, where the challenge is to allow for the necessary correction in real estate markets while preventing an excessively sharp slowdown," it noted in its report.
"In larger cities in China, house prices show signs of overvaluation relative to fundamentals despite measures aimed at restricting speculative demand."

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Have a friend who is planning on emigrating to OZ and according to him, once he gets his PR, his children's education will automatically be free from primary to tertiary education. Is the OZ govt so generous? If not, what's the catch? That's like the most generous treatment towards PRs for any country.

Have a friend who is planning on emigrating to OZ and according to him, once he gets his PR, his children's education will automatically be free from primary to tertiary education. Is the OZ govt so generous? If not, what's the catch? That's like the most generous treatment towards PRs for any country.

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Depends private/public, tertiary is not exactly free, but more or less interest free loans. We treat all PRs the same, except for passport, jury duty, and certain jobs.

Yeah, he was referring to public school, interest-free loans? He was under the impression that it's totally free..

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For public schools, primary till high, there is a yearly, school maintanance fee, it depends on the school, usually less then $500. Tertiary, depends on course, via HECS-HELP, looks like they removed that for PR.

The HECS‑HELP scheme is both a student loan and a student discount. Eligible students may access a HECS‑HELP loan to pay their student contribution amounts, or receive a 10% discount (known as the HECS-HELP discount) on upfront payments of $500 or more.

On this page:
What is HECS‑HELP?
Am I eligible for HECS‑HELP?
What are the HECS-HELP residency requirements?
Who is not eligible for HECS-HELP?
How does the HECS‑HELP discount work if I pay all my student contribution upfront?
How does the HECS‑HELP discount work if I pay only part of my student contribution upfront?
What if I don't want to pay any amount upfront?
How much will a HECS‑HELP loan cost me?
Can I change my payment option?
How do I repay my HECS‑HELP loan?
Need more information?

What is HECS‑HELP?

The HECS‑HELP scheme is both a student loan and a student discount. Eligible students may access a HECS‑HELP loan to pay their student contribution amounts, or receive a 10% discount (known as the HECS-HELP discount) on upfront payments of $500 or more.

The HECS‑HELP discount works by increasing the value of a student's upfront payment. This means that the student will actually pay less for their studies if they make an eligible upfront payment. Please refer to the example below for more information about how the HECS-HELP discount and loan can work together.

Note: The HECS‑HELP 10% discount (not the HECS-HELP loan) will be removed from 1 January 2017.
Until that date, the current arrangements still apply for units of study that have a census date on or before 31 December 2016.

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Am I eligible for HECS‑HELP?

To be eligible for HECS‑HELP, you must:

be studying in a Commonwealth supported place;
be an Australian citizen; or
be a New Zealand Special Category Visa holder who meets the long-term residency requirements; or

'Scared for life': Grandmother bashed by cowardly thugs fears they will return

7News / 6:58pm AEDT
A Victorian grandmother who was bashed in the backyard of her home by a gang of young thugs is terrified they will return.

Nina Balnozen, 67, was babysitting her two grandsons on Saturday night when she heard teenagers yelling out the front of her Hoppers Crossing home.
She shouted through the window for the group to stop, then ran to her backyard to shut the gates.
The gang then turned violent, punching and kicking the gates until they swung open and knocked Ms Balnozen to the ground.
Nina Balnozen has been left with cuts and bruises after thugs attacked her at home in Hoppers Crossing. Source: 7 News
The grandmother said she didn’t realise how bad her injuries were until she got up from the ground.
“I felt blood dripping off my face,” she said.
The 67-year-old dusted herself off and went inside, but the teens then smashed her window and ran off.
The grandmother said she doesn’t feel safe in her own home anymore, and described the attack as making her feel scared for her life.
The grandmother said the gang turned violent and kicked her backyard fence, causing her to fall. Source: 7 News
The 67-year-old is worried the gang will return. Source: 7 News
“I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Ms Balnozen said.
Detectives believe the group didn’t want to break into the house – they were just out to toy with a stranger for a bit of fun.
Victoria Police Senior Constable Ben Nash said the attack “appears random”.
“After speaking to the victim, she’s not aware of these people and can’t offer any explanation as to why they would have done this,” he said.
Police will now review CCTV footage from nearby homes to catch the thugs, but even if they succeed Ms Balnozen fears they will never be held to account.
“Who gives you the right to go around and damage other people’s property and hurt people?” she said.
“Instead, they should learn respect.”
Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or user the Crime Stoppers online reporting page.